A Court Fight Over Moving the Dead
Andrew O. Freeborn wants a judge to order the health officer to permit the disinterment of Augusta Schmeig Picht from the Masonic cemetery to another lot.
Andrew O. Freeborn filed a petition in the court yesterday asking that Dr. Palmer, health officer, be instructed to issue to him a permit for the disinterment of the body of Augusta Schmeig Picht, who died in 1888 and was buried in the Masonic cemetery, from its present resting place to another lot in the same cemetery.
Freeborn alleges that he and Arthur Schmeig filed a written request and demanded a permit from Palmer on May 13, and Palmer refused and still refuses to issue the permit. Freeborn asks that a writ of mandamus be issued ordering Palmer to show cause why he should not issue the permit.
An order confirming sale was signed yesterday in the case of D. S. Atkinson vs. Arthur Schmeig, on lots 5 and 6, in block [?], in the Second addition to the city of Seattle.
“Freeborn asks that a writ of mandamus be issued ordering Palmer to show cause why he should not issue the permit.”
Disinterment permits and cemetery disputes still reach courts today, often when families disagree or land changes hands. The Freeborn petition is a reminder that even the dead are subject to municipal paperwork.
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